Category Archives: Medicinal plants

Spring! Finally . . .Ah Chooooo!

42-15530364After a couple of false starts, it looks like Spring is really here. The days are warmer, tulips are pushing up, and the sparrows are starting to arrive.

Spring means that we will be planting a garden soon. We know from experience that planting anything outside before Mother’s day is just setting yourself up for heartbreak! So for right now we are prepping the greenhouse for planting next week. Lots of weeds, dust and dirt to move around.

Which is why I know it is Spring. Besides all the dirt and dust, every plant and tree Prescott is in bloom. Or at least that is what my sinuses think. I can’t breath, my nose is alternatively running or completely stuffed up and I seem to have a chronic headache.

I have tried everything to make me breath better from local bee honey to stinging nettles and a neti pot. The neti pot worked best. Unfortunately,  you have to be a contortionist to use it and/or be willing to be drenched by the time you are done. (more…)

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Ginger–Don’t leave home without it!

I get sick with a cold or the flu once a year if I need it or not. This year it was the stomach flu. Probably not technically the flu but some norovirus that acts like the flu.

Whatever it was, it was a very nasty invader. At first I thought it might be food poisoning because of the nausea, vomiting and general intestinal distress. But I couldn’t come up with any foods I had eaten that would have poisoned me.  Two things convinced me it was a virus: a fever and David having exactly the same thing.

The point of that whole shaggy dog tail is ginger:  for 24 hours the ONLY thing that made me feel any better was a home-brewed ginger tea. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Medicinal plants, Vitamins, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet and The Human Ecosystem

imageSometimes it is hard to believe that we are totally dependent on the kindness of our internal and external biota. Everyone fears the dreaded Staphylococcus flesh eating bacteria that is methicillin resistant. Yet how many of us know that our sweat glands are occupied by a benign bacterial cousin? A cousin that aids our immune system in its constant combat with less friendly invaders.

Friendly skin staph bacteria is in fact very helpful to the immune system! The problems arise when they mutate into cousins that cause serious infections in open wounds. Current research indicates that our fascination with anti-bacterial hand cleansers can clearly have some harmful effects when used extensively and often, These cleansers often demolish our protective skin dwellers. (more…)

Posted in GERD, IBS, Medicinal plants, weigh loss, Whole Food Plant-Based nutrition | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Integrative Wellness Rules: A Simple Guide to Healthy Living by Jim Nicolai M.D.

Have I mentioned it’s cold here? The perfect time to catch up on my reading and the explanation for why I have reviewed so many books lately. Last weekend I read Integrative Wellness Rules by Dr. Jim Nicolai. I found it so impressive that I just have to write a little about it.

You may recognize Jim Nicolai’s name especially if you know about Andrew Weil, M.D., Integrative Wellness Center (Miraval) in Tuscon. Dr. Jim is the medical director at of the Miraval Health Spa and Wellness Center. (more…)

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Aloe Vera: Another Way of Using Plant-Based Nutrition

What do you do when you get a sunburn?

If you are like me you go out to the “First Aid” plant (aka aloe vera) and cut a leaf. As the gel weeps out you slather it all over and breath a deep sigh of relief. It may be cool and sticky but it almost instantly soothes the soreness.

It is no wonder your skin heals. The plant gel contains vitamins (A, B-1, B-2 , C, D and E) and minerals (zinc, selenium, magnesium, copper and potassium). There are even  sterols, phytonutrients and amino acids for good measure. (more…)

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